Tag Archive for Matt Harvey

I didn’t have the courage to stay up past the seventh inning of last night’s game in Arizona but gathered from the box score that it turned out alright if you can forgive the shakiness of the 8th and 9th and while overlooking that Mets managed only two baserunners against the entire Diamondback bullpen amid David Wright’s growing slump.

I’d be more optimistic today if I knew there were an offensive version of Matt Harvey down there at AAA ready to make the next step, but I don’t see one. And looking realistically at the organization, you’d figure there’s a need to replace as many as three outfielders; get a catcher who can hit; and probably, a better second baseman before they’re ready to adequately support guys like Harvey, Wheeler and whatever else the more developed pitching pipeline produces. What I’m saying is, maybe the club will make a trade or two before the clock strikes midnight Tuesday. And if so, let’s hope they produce hitters that can help tomorrow and not relief pitchers for tonight.

Have we seen the last of Lucas Duda? The big lefty looked promising for a while, but hasn’t hit with enough power this year to forgive his poor glove and this week was banished to AAA Buffalo. If the Mets think Ike Davis has put his nightmares behind him and is the better bet at first base, Duda could go in one of the trades. Anyway, he’s down, Manny Acosta is back up, Mike Nickeas is down, Rob Johnson is back up, Pedro Beato is down, and Matt Harvey looks awfully good in No. 33.

I can understand the Mets being patient and trying to manage expectations with regards to pitching prospect Matt Harvey, who appears to be making his first major league start later this week in Arizona. But geez, did they have to go Miguel Batista one more time? His ouster in Saturday’s debacle with Los Angeles was about the least surprising of the many bad things to have happened to the Mets since the All-Star break. That performance got Batista designated for assignment. Combined with Johan Santana’s deserved trip to the disabled list, it paves the way for Harvey’s ascendancy ready or not.

Recent trends notwithstanding, I can’t see the Mets continuing to climb the ladder for pitcher numbers and issue Harvey something in the 60s or 70s. I’d expect something like 36, although 33 and 22 are available as well.

In other news, Elvin Ramirez, wearing 62, is back again.

The Mets look like a team nearly wiped out from a lack of confidence that’s swept like a virus, infecting the bullpen first and now spreading throughout the lineup. I’m not putting it past the Mets to get healthy again but the offense in general requires more fixes than just that, and sadly, there’s few Matt Harveys waiting in Buffalo for their chance to hit their way onto this team.

As dubbed by commenter Gordon in the below post the Mets could run out the “Luis Luis” keystone combination with the recall of infielder Luis Hernandez from the minor leagues. Hernandez, whom I’m already confusing with that Ramon Martinez guy we played at second base near the end of the ’08 season, will wear No. 3 and presumably stick around only until Jose Reyes feels better. Jesus Feliciano was again returned to Buffalo to make room.

The Mets before the game introduced Matt Harvey, their top selection from the draft this June, and presented him with a No. 35 jersey. I’m heading off on vacation and might be tardy with updates over the next week: Expect the usual suspects to be recalled (Feliciano, Nick Evans, maybe even Sean Green) and hopefully a few new faces (Lucas Duda, who couldn’t possibly be a worse candidate to get outfield starts than Jeff Francoeur) but those may not come immediately as Buffalo fights for a playoff spot.

As always you can stay in touch here. Mets by the way keep extending that contiguous-points-at-.500 streak: At 64-64 they are now at 12 straight. They are very average.

Congratulations to Matt Harvey, the Mets’ first pick and seventh overall, in this year’s amateur draft. Photos from his University of North Carolina career show Harvey wearing No. 43.

It will be some time before Harvey arrives, but hopefully not as much as Jesus Feliciano has waited. The Buffalo outfielder, who just turned 31 and has logged some 1,300 minor league games and nearly 5,000 plate appearances, was recalled to take the slot temporarily occupied by Omir Santos. No word yet on his uni number, although reader Dave Mackey points out Feliciano was wearing 23 in Buffalo (currently Chris Carter‘s uni here). Dave points out that 27 is free but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets briskly re-issue the 19 last belonging to Gary Matthews Jr. as a means of instant palate-cleansing. We will update!
The accompanying photo is a wire photo of Jack Fisher, beneficiary of the 19 runs the Mets scored in May of 1964 to beat the Cubs, referred to below in the first Meet the Dicks post. A copy was sent along by reader Paul C. The caption, difficult to read in this shrunken size reads as follows:

CHICAGO — With the New York Mets hitting like champions here 5/26 against the Cubs, and setting a new team record for hits and runs, Jack Fisher, shown here in dressing room, coasted and finished the game for the first time in 17 starts, eight of them this year, with his second win against three defeats. The last place Mets blasted 23 hits off six Cub hurlers for a 19-1 triumph.